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In pictures: Supermoon 2017

The supermoon rises behind the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the US Capitol in WashingtonJIM LO SCALZO/EPA

The Times, December 4 2017, 12:00pm

Last night the skies were brightened by this year’s only visible supermoon, a phenomenon that occurs when a full moon coincides with a point in the lunar orbit when it is closer to Earth, making it appear larger and brighter.

The moon’s slightly elliptical orbit means that at some points it is about 5 per cent closer to Earth than average, known as perigee, and at others it is 5 per cent further away, known as apogee.

Yesterday’s full moon was 222,761 miles from Earth, closer than the average of 238,900 miles.

Nasa described the event as the first in a “supermoon trilogy”, with two more to come on January 1 and January 31.

Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town, South AfricaNIC BOTHMA/EPA

A supermoon can appear 14 per cent larger in the sky, such as at Whitley Bay, NorthumberlandOwen Humphreys/PA

In Buffalo, New York, the supermoon rises over a replica of the Statue of Liberty on top of the Liberty BuildingJulio Cortez/AP

An aircraft cuts across the giant moon at Avondale Estates, Georgia, in the USERIK S. LESSER/EPA